EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT

Sierra went to her first birthday party on Saturday.

It was her best friend, from school, Amanda's party.

I have never let her go to a party unless I have known the parents well.

I didn't.... but it was her bestest friend.

It was really hard for me.

I lectured her before she left.

"If anyone does anything that makes you really uncomfortable in anyway, what do you do?

You scream at the top of your lungs."

She said, "Mom, they will think I am crazy and I will ruin the party."

I said, "I don't care. What is the rule?"

She repeated it, even though she thought I was crazy.

Then I said, "If anyone does anything to make you kind of uncomfortable, what do you do?

You ask for a phone and you call me."

She said, "Okay. I even know our phone number." Then she repeated the our phone number.

I still prayed every second she was gone from me.

She is still my baby and it is hard to let her grow up.

This wasn't the most dramatic part of the day..... by far.

EMERGENCY ROOM DRAMA

Nate blew out his knee fishing.

He went fishing in the Black Canyon by himself.

He loves it down there. He has taken us there before and we have camped there.

It really is so beautiful.

Brother Bob told him about the SOB trail, which leads into the Black Canyon, several weeks ago.

He had to go and check it out .

He went. It was intense. He told me it is the grade of hiking right below rock climbing virtually straight down for one and a half miles. He said the last half a mile is just covered in poison ivy and giant boulders, which are hard to navigate because they are embedded in the side of the mountain. The easiest way is straight through the poison ivy.

He has asked me to go with him.... tempting.

The last time he went it took him a full week to recover it was so strenuous on his body.

Then last weekend rolled around and he said, "I am off to the SOB trail again."

I just rolled my eyes and said, "Okay."

He left first thing in the morning. He got into the canyon and set up camp.

The next morning he was on the river and saw some amazing fish.

He attempted to cross the river without the appropriate shoes.

Something happened. He heard a pop.

He fell into the river and floated down aways before he was able to pull himself out of the river.

He got back to camp and gathered his gear. He knew he didn't have long before the swelling in his knee would become so bad he wouldn't be able to get out of the canyon.

He pulled his body up the trail, straight through the poison ivy, on his hands and knees.

He got to the top and had to drive 4 Runner in far enough to get cellular reception.

To bad his wife didn't answer the phone.

He drove all the way home. He said he drove the standard with one leg.

He didn't want to go to the emergency room unless Sister Kay said he had to.

She has worked as a nurse for years.

I ran to her house and got her. She took two seconds with it and told him to get to the ER.

She took the girls back to the house while I took Nate to the ER.

Thank heaven for Kay.

I got a phone call from her while we were waiting. "The girls say that it would be alright if I took them to Wendy's and got them a kid's meal for dinner and that it would be fine with you if they got ice cream too."

My girls.

Then I got a phone call saying, "I don't know how the girls got so filthy but I am taking them back to your house and bathing them and getting them in their pj's."

Then I got a text saying, "Sierra locked me out of the bathroom."

I giggled because Sierra is so private of course she wouldn't let Sister Kay see her naked.

Sister Kay was worried about Madison drowning. 

Then I got another text, "Madison pooped in the bathtub."

Thank you girls.

Nate thought it was cool that the nurse on duty knew exactly where he had been that morning.

They took an x-ray. He tore his MCL really bad. There was too much swelling and bruising they couldn't see whether or not he would need surgery. They recommended he see a specialist Wednesday. Then they wrapped his leg in a massive brace that went from mid-thigh to his ankle gave his some pain-meds and sent us home.

The doctor who attended him was a fly-fisherman too. He said, "At least you were there." Nate kept repeating the phrase over and over again all the way home. It really made him happy. It really made me annoyed.

When we walked up to the house their was a ton of giggling coming from inside. Sister Kay introduced the girls to the farting ap on her phone.

You can dictate how long and loud and what pitch you want and then push the fart button.

The girls were all giggles.

Thank heaven for Kay, not because she was teaching my kids about the farting ap, but because Sierra was really upset about her daddy hurting himself and it was nice that she was giggling and not thinking about it.

Nate went to the specialist yesterday. They took off his massive brace and just put an ace bandage on his knee. They did an MRI but won't have results until this afternoon. We pray we don't have to go through surgery. Life.

We are grateful that...

Nate was able by some miracle to get himself out of that canyon. The man is a rock.

Nate didn't drowned.

Kay was available when we needed her so much and was so willing to help us.

Nate is so onery he went back to work yesterday. I am annoyed.... and very, very, proud.

I wish he would take a week off and just rest his bad knee.

However, he doesn't have sick leave where he works.

He really feels a massive responsibility to take care of his family at any sacrifice.

He loves us and it is his way of showing it.